“Right now there is definitely a need for caregivers to support patients,” McCarrier said Thursday. “It is kind of tough to give any numbers regarding the kind of concrete need there is because there is no mandatory patient registration, but we still get requests.”

Estimates have placed the number of unregistered but legal patients and registered patients at about 13,000. Growers typically make $30,000 to $50,000 annually, according to McCarrier. Many of the patient requests for marijuana come from rural Penobscot, Washington and Aroostook counties, McCarrier said.

“We easily have had over a dozen in the past month alone,” he said.

Normally, the caregivers group charges $30 for its classes, but the informational session in Lincoln will be free to millworkers, with priority given to area residents, officials said. The session will be held 6-8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 3, at Lakeside Art Gallery, 9 Main St.

The Maine Department of Health and Human Services issued 1,311 caregiver cards to treat 1,455 voluntarily registered patients in calendar year 2012, a department report states. More recent numbers were not available on Thursday.

The 2012 report lists eight registered dispensaries in Maine. The locations nearest to Lincoln include Brewer, Ellsworth and Frenchville. McCarrier said there is one grower in the Lincoln Lakes region and that the group hoped to develop more there through the free seminar.